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TURKEY UNION HITS AT 'HATE CRIME' SCHOOL BOOKS
Agence France Presse
October 22, 2012 Monday 3:28 PM GMT
A Turkish education union pressed Monday for the impounding of a
series of books mocking non-Muslim historical figures that were given
out at several Istanbul schools last month, accusing the editor of
"hate crime".
"The books include phrases that are unscientific, anti-Semitic,
anti-Armenian and humiliate Christians, non-religious people and
people with a left-wing philosophy," read a statement released by
the Egitim-Sen union.
The legal complaint was filed after parents notified Egitim-Sen of the
15 books titled "Big Steps Biographical Series," which were distributed
free to some 1,000 elementary school children in Istanbul's central
Maltepe district.
"We want the books impounded, and all those responsible held
accountable for their part in their distribution into the hands of
10-year-old children," said Mehmet Aydogan, chief of the union's
Istanbul bureau which filed the charges.
"The fact that these ostracising books are being handed out freely
shows the type of mentality we are up against," Aydogan told AFP,
noting that the incident was not the first and might be pointing to
an increasing religious intolerance in Turkey.
The controversial books describe Albert Einstein as a "dirty and
sloppy" child who walks barefoot and loves eating soap "despite the
sad part that, in those years, Gestapos were putting Jews in ovens
and making soap out of them."
Another prominent scientist, Charles Darwin, is portrayed as a
"clandestine Jew who hated his big nose" and spent 20 years to prove
his evolution theory, "knowing he was only fooling himself."
The mock biographies have caused outrage in social media and from
Turks across the country, who said they were amazed to see Sigmund
Freud described as the "father of perverts" and Santa Claus as a
"bloke who should be prosecuted for housebreaking" in the series.
The union has filed charges of "hate crime" against the books' editor,
Ahmet Sirri Arvas, who is also the chief editor of Turkey's oldest
childrens' magazine, Turkiye Cocuk.
"Those are not direct biographies, they are storified, abridged
books... They are not scientific or academic pieces, or university
dissertations either," Arvas was quoted as saying by liberal daily
Radikal on Sunday.
The phrases that drew criticism will be fixed in future editions,
according to Arvas, who was not available for further comments
on Monday.
The union complaint also asks for charges against the district
governorate and district education authorities, on the grounds they
committed "neglect of duty" by allowing the books to be handed out.
The incident was among several cases where a publication made its way
to young students, bypassing authorities who failed to investigate
their contents, according to Aydogan.
Back in March, the union filed a legal complaint against another book,
after it was delivered in a similar way to several high schools in
Istanbul's Kartal district.
The book entitled "I Am Removing This File: Armenian Issue," which
branded Armenian genocide as "a bloody lie" and labelled Turkish
sympathisers of Armenians as "devils among us," was impounded after
the complaint.
But unions and concerned parents manage to spot only some of those
books which seem to be resurfacing in a different district every few
months, union officials warned.
"There are so many weird publications out there, it is next to
impossible for us to keep track on all of them," Unsal Yildiz, head
of Egitim-Sen, told AFP.
"We manage to spot some of them, but the real question is: what else
is out there that we are not aware of?" Aydogan agreed.
In 2009, a popular television series titled "Farewell" was taken
off the air after it sparked controversy for what critics branded an
anti-Semitic narration of the stories of Palestinian victims during
Israel's "Cast Lead" Gaza offensive.
The series aired on Turkish state television dramatically strained
ties between Turkey and Israel, with the latter summoning the Turkish
ambassador to complain of the portrayal of Israeli soldiers as
"murderers of innocent children."
From: A. Papazian
Agence France Presse
October 22, 2012 Monday 3:28 PM GMT
A Turkish education union pressed Monday for the impounding of a
series of books mocking non-Muslim historical figures that were given
out at several Istanbul schools last month, accusing the editor of
"hate crime".
"The books include phrases that are unscientific, anti-Semitic,
anti-Armenian and humiliate Christians, non-religious people and
people with a left-wing philosophy," read a statement released by
the Egitim-Sen union.
The legal complaint was filed after parents notified Egitim-Sen of the
15 books titled "Big Steps Biographical Series," which were distributed
free to some 1,000 elementary school children in Istanbul's central
Maltepe district.
"We want the books impounded, and all those responsible held
accountable for their part in their distribution into the hands of
10-year-old children," said Mehmet Aydogan, chief of the union's
Istanbul bureau which filed the charges.
"The fact that these ostracising books are being handed out freely
shows the type of mentality we are up against," Aydogan told AFP,
noting that the incident was not the first and might be pointing to
an increasing religious intolerance in Turkey.
The controversial books describe Albert Einstein as a "dirty and
sloppy" child who walks barefoot and loves eating soap "despite the
sad part that, in those years, Gestapos were putting Jews in ovens
and making soap out of them."
Another prominent scientist, Charles Darwin, is portrayed as a
"clandestine Jew who hated his big nose" and spent 20 years to prove
his evolution theory, "knowing he was only fooling himself."
The mock biographies have caused outrage in social media and from
Turks across the country, who said they were amazed to see Sigmund
Freud described as the "father of perverts" and Santa Claus as a
"bloke who should be prosecuted for housebreaking" in the series.
The union has filed charges of "hate crime" against the books' editor,
Ahmet Sirri Arvas, who is also the chief editor of Turkey's oldest
childrens' magazine, Turkiye Cocuk.
"Those are not direct biographies, they are storified, abridged
books... They are not scientific or academic pieces, or university
dissertations either," Arvas was quoted as saying by liberal daily
Radikal on Sunday.
The phrases that drew criticism will be fixed in future editions,
according to Arvas, who was not available for further comments
on Monday.
The union complaint also asks for charges against the district
governorate and district education authorities, on the grounds they
committed "neglect of duty" by allowing the books to be handed out.
The incident was among several cases where a publication made its way
to young students, bypassing authorities who failed to investigate
their contents, according to Aydogan.
Back in March, the union filed a legal complaint against another book,
after it was delivered in a similar way to several high schools in
Istanbul's Kartal district.
The book entitled "I Am Removing This File: Armenian Issue," which
branded Armenian genocide as "a bloody lie" and labelled Turkish
sympathisers of Armenians as "devils among us," was impounded after
the complaint.
But unions and concerned parents manage to spot only some of those
books which seem to be resurfacing in a different district every few
months, union officials warned.
"There are so many weird publications out there, it is next to
impossible for us to keep track on all of them," Unsal Yildiz, head
of Egitim-Sen, told AFP.
"We manage to spot some of them, but the real question is: what else
is out there that we are not aware of?" Aydogan agreed.
In 2009, a popular television series titled "Farewell" was taken
off the air after it sparked controversy for what critics branded an
anti-Semitic narration of the stories of Palestinian victims during
Israel's "Cast Lead" Gaza offensive.
The series aired on Turkish state television dramatically strained
ties between Turkey and Israel, with the latter summoning the Turkish
ambassador to complain of the portrayal of Israeli soldiers as
"murderers of innocent children."
From: A. Papazian